Journal Of Microelectromechanical Systems, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1995.

Abstract

A microactuator technology that combines magnetic thin films with polysilicon flexural structures is described. Devices are constructed in a batch-fabrication process that combines electroplating with conventional lithography, materials, and equipment. A microactuator consisting of a 400x(47-40)x7 µm 3 rectangular plate of NiFe attached to a 400x(0.9-1.4)x2.25 µm 3 polysilicon cantilever beam has been displaced over 1.2 mm, rotated over 180°, and actuated with over 0.185 nNm of torque. The microactuator is capable of motion both in and out of the wafer plane and has been operated in a conductive fluid environment. Theoretical expressions for the displacement and torque are developed and compared to experimental results. I. INTRODUCTION AGNETIC microactuation has recently been demonstrated by several research groups [1-6]. In most cases magnetic-microactuator fabrication is not accomplished in a continuous batch process, but rather with the addition of steps such as manual assembly..